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Tough Competitors

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MIKE ROSENBAUM
Special to the Jewish News

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3/8
2002

88

igh school seniors Ethan Linkner and
Cal Wasserman forged a friendship as
JCC Maccabi soccer teammates and
roommates in -1997-98.
Since then, they've been on-field competitors.
But their friendship remains.
Wasserman says the two "have a lot in common,
the way we act and stuff. When you play Maccabi,
you get pretty close to the people, from spending
the week together."
The two met while playing for the Detroit squad
at the 1997 Maccabi regional in Pittsburgh. They
also played in the 1998 North American JCC
Maccabi Youth Games in Detroit.
But they've also played for different club squads
and different high schools — Wasserman attends
Birmingham Groves while Linkner goes to

Bloomfield Hills Lahser. In addition, since
Linkner is a sweeper while Wasserman plays for-
ward or midfield, they can literally go head-to-
head on the field.
"He's an offensive player and I'm a defensive play-
er," Linkner explains, "so we get to see a lot of each
other," when their teams compete. "There's a lot of
one-upping each other, a friendly rivalry."
Wasserman refers to their on-field banter as "jok-
ing around on the field." In between, Linkner tries
to stay aware of where Wasserman is at all times.
"He's definitely one of the best players, so you've
got to keep an eye on him," Linkner says of his
friend, "but it's also a personal goal to stop him."
"When I played on the Michigan Wolves,"
Wasserman says, "and he played on the Bloomfield
Force, we played each other about 10 times, in
tournaments and the regular season. My Wolves
team usually beat his (Force team), but his Lahser
team usually beat Groves."

"We'll definitely talk, win or lose," Linkner says. "We've
always stayed good friends before and after the game.
,
On the field, though, it's a different story'
The duo has taken different soccer roads. Linkner has
played organized soccer since he was kindergarten age.
Wasserman played soccer for fun. He learned the game
in future Groves' teammate Jordan Gruber's basement,
but didn't compete with an organized team until sev-
enth grade.
Wasserman began playing travel soccer in ninth
grade.
Linkner completed his four-year Lahser varsity
career in the fall. He gained All-Region status and
helped lead the Knights to the Division II regional
final game, where the defensive specialist scored his
first high school goal. •
Wasserman reached the Groves varsity at the end of
his freshman season. He started some games as a sopho-
more, then blossomed as a junior.
As a sophomore, Wasserman played forward while his
friend Gruber started at center-midfield. But Gruber
"was getting too beat up in the middle," Wasserman
recalls. "He wasn't getting enough time to go to the
goal. So they put me back to center-midfield. That was
the first time I ever played that position, and it worked
really well."
The change allowed Gruber to set a state record with
80 goals, and Wasserman set a Groves record with 25
assists, along with six goals, and the Falcons reached the
state final.
"The best thing about our team last year is that the
main group of players have been soccer partners and a
group of best friends," Wasserman says. "I think that's
the reason we did so well. Our defense and our goalie
just stepped up.
"The most memorable game was the state semi-final.
Groves had never been there before. We played
Farmington, which was one of the only teams to beat
us that year, and we won 1-0. Jordan scored in over-
time."
This season,- with Gruber moving on to Michigan
State University, Wasserman assumed the role as a key
goal-scorer. He netted 12 goals, added 13 assists and
helped lead a young Falcon squad to a winning season.
They lost to Linkner's Knights in the state district final.
Wasserman was Groves' most valuable player and
earned All-State honors for the second consecutive
season.
"The relationships that I've built with my friends
through soccer have really kept me going,"
Wasserman says.
Linkner adds that "soccer has pretty much connected
me with the world. I've been to Europe twice because
of soccer. I've been to Cuba because of soccer. I've
played soccer all over the country. It's brought me so

many places."
Linkner and Wasserman will play for their club teams
this spring; and both hope to play college soccer in the
Linkner will attend the University of Michigan.
Wasserman is deciding between Eastern and Western
Michigan, Saginaw Valley State and possibly other
schools.
Wasserman is confident that his rivalry and friendship
with Linkner will continue. "I'm sure we'll still be play-
ing against each other for the next couple of years, in
dub and possibly in college. We'll keep in touch."